2 Years of Blogging

I’ve officially had Life of Angela for 2 years now. It’s been through quite a few changes over that time. Last year, I celebrated with a cupcake. This year, I celebrate with a cookie.

My first year of blogging was very exciting for me. I first jumped into this world and community, and I was always full of ideas and couldn’t wait to get to work on my next post. I blogged daily, read everyone’s posts daily, and devoted a large chunk of my time (outside my day job), planning and preparing future posts. I even went self-hosted a few months in. I viewed blogging as my second full time job really.

Throwback to celebrating my one year blogiversary

This past year had me going in and out of blogging more than I thought I would. The first few months, I was still blogging almost daily and always felt so creative. Then I took my first break from blogging, when we went to Japan in May. Taking that step back from the blogging world, I since found it hard to get back into it. I went on and off for a while. Then we found out we were expecting, and I continued to step back. I’ve now stepped all the way back into my old wordpress blog, rather than continuing my self-hosted one.

Coming into another year of blogging, I’m not sure what to expect. I’m hoping to come to a middle ground. I don’t think I’ll get back to that mindset of blogging full-time, but I would like to stay active in the blogging world. For now, I’m enjoying blogging once or twice a week and just catching up.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck around and hung out with me on this blog for the past two years. It’s nice to return to this online community and chat, discuss interests, and just see what everyone is up to all over the globe.

Here’s to another year of blogging!

Angela.

Reigniting Inspiration

Hello again! The previous week went by pretty fast for me. Work was hectic, we got caught up in day to day life, and we always left home and came home in the dark. Ain’t winter the best?

In my last post, I talked about needing time off from my blog to recharge. You guys were all amazingly sweet and supportive, and I will forever gush about this incredible community. Now that I’ve had some space, I have decided to return to blogging. I was thinking about dropping it for a hot second there, but I’ve put so much into this blog and met so many amazing people that I don’t think I could actually do it. So for now, I’m back to blogging, but just on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Yay for schedules! Maybe one day, I’ll get back to daily blogging, but only when I’m back in that headspace.

Now for some classic rambling. Stick with me, or skim if you’re low on time!

So, this post is about reigniting inspiration. For so long (pretty much for over a year!), I was the one who you could count on to come up with some fun post everyday. I often mass wrote these in fits of ‘hysterical inspiration’ I have decided to call it. Everything was a blog post idea, and I had so much fun doing it! This time last year, I was blogging two-three times daily, which is insane. I was constantly brimming with ideas, and it seems like lately, I was finally tapped. It started becoming a hassle, and I was forcing ideas and posts out. I realized I wasn’t looking forward to writing posts, or even reading posts from my fellow bloggers. Hence the break.

I do think that’s the best way to feel inspired again. For some it may be just a week, but others may needs more weeks or even months until they feel that inspiration to blog again. It’s nice to know that this community is still always here waiting for the return. I know I always get really excited when a blogger I haven’t seen in a while comes back. As for those bloggers who consistently create great content and don’t seem to be slowing down, you guys are amazing! Keep riding that wave of inspiration! If you do crash, don’t be afraid to take a break and recharge.

I don’t really know what else to say at this point. I’ve already started buzzing with ideas and I’ve started filling out my little planner again!

It’s good to be back.

Angela.

Have You Met Georgia?

Let’s get back into it!

Haaaaaaaaaaaaave you met Georgia?

Georgia blogs over at Midnight Madness. She writes about fashion, beauty, travel, lifestyle, health/fitness and so much more! She really is a Girl Boss!

Here’s a snippet from Georgia’s About Me page:

This blog is a place for me to to collect my thoughts and document my memories. Also, it’s a place where I get to write about all the things I’m passionate about, such as fashion, beauty, self-improvement, success and happiness. Although my blog is mainly lifestyle, I also love to rant about all the super exciting travelling that I do, literally every time I get a chance. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I love writing about it.

I’ve always been super into writing and very outspoken so not too long ago I decided it’d be interesting to rant about life to strangers on the internet, in hopes that I can motivate and help others as much as I can.

I’ve been following Georgia for ages, she is such an inspiration

Here are some of my favourite posts of hers:

• If We Were Having Coffee (March Life Update)

The first coffee catch up post I remember reading on WordPress was from Georgia! These are my favourite lifestyle posts to read as it’s nice to just catch up with what’s been going on lately.

• 4 Questions You Must Ask Yourself as a Creator

Georgia often shares blogging and writing tips, and this is one of my favourites. She talks about four questions that you want to ask yourself before publishing a post.

• Exploring the Grove – LA Travel

I love travel posts in general, let me just say that right off the bat. In this post, Georgia takes us around the Grove in L.A!

• Ways To Fill Your Notebook

I’m someone who loves to buy notebooks. I’m sure a lot of us are. Georgia shares lots of ideas to fill up any notebooks you may have lying around!

• Winter to Spring Transition Outfits

Georgia shares three different outfits in this post. All in preparation for the change of season. I definitely recommend checking out her other outfits in the post as well!

I really recommend checking out Georgia’s blog if you haven’t already! She writes such an array of creative and inspiring posts!

Angela.

Find me elsewhere:

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Have You Met Elena?

Introducing another lovely blogger friend…

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaave you met Elena?

Elena blogs over at Out’n’About. She’s from Switzerland, but is currently on an overseas exchange programme in Canada. She blogs about her art, travel, photography and so much more!

Here are Elena’s own words about her blog:

I launched OUT N’ ABOUT January 1^st, 2017 to use it as my creative space. My goal here is to share my love for art, literature and travel, as well as creating discussions about society, philosophy and whatever else crosses my mind!

Blogging is still something I am experimenting with, there will always be things to learn and figure out, but most importantly, it is something I absolutely enjoy doing! Hopefully I could have caught your interest and brim over some of my enthusiasm through this blog!

I’ve been following Elena since early in my days of blogging, I remember when she announced she was heading off to Canada! She’s always been so lovely and supportive, and I always love to read about what she gets up to!

Here are some of my favourite posts of hers:

• Responsibilities I Have as A Girl

Elena often shares some through-provoking posts, and this is one of my favourites. She shares her thoughts on responsibilities as a girl (and human) about feminism and equality. You should definitely give it a read, as I can’t give it enough justice!

• Frozen Waves

Elena has shared her photography with us on numerous occasions, and I really liked this one! On a recent cold trip to the frozen river, Elena snapped away and got some amazing shots like the one above.

• How Realistic Do We Need to be on Social Media?

Another thought piece that is very relevant to all of us. Social media. We often showcase the best side of ourselves online, keeping some of the more not so picturesque moments to ourselves. I really enjoyed reading Elena’s thoughts about this, and she really brings up some great points.

• I Went Dog Sledding

The title says it all really. Elena was lucky enough to go dog sledding, and shares with us all, her adventure!

• Beautifully Negative

Another photo series that I really loved! Elena edited her photos in a very unique way, focusing on the negative colours. They came out quite striking and different. I love how Elena is always experimenting with her photography!

I hope you guys do check out Elena’s blog! All of these posts I mentioned are amazing, but they’re just a small section of what you can find on Out’n’About!

Angela.

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March Photos

As always, here are my favourite photos from the past month!

Food

• My celebratory cupcake for reaching my first blogiversary!
• I baked some creepy looking Red Blood Cell Cupcakes
• A delicious Oreo donut
• My recent baking post for Chocolate Peppermint!

Selfies

• The first two are my favourite photos from the outfits I recreated from Pinterest.
• Next is one of the only makeup selfies I took this month, where I tried to recreate my wedding makeup.
• The next three aren’t photos I’ve taken, but I’ve included them as they are photos of me. More specifically, from my amazing boudoir shoot!
• The last one is the latest selfie I have taken with Rory. We hadn’t taken any in a while, so I wanted one!

DIY

• I did two DIY posts this month. The mason jar wall hanging, and marbled jars.

Miscellaneous

• Two of my favourite flatlays I’ve created recently
• I’m always a sucker for a sunset!

Those are my favourite photos for the month! What have been some of your favourite photos?

Angela.

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Have You Met Kate?

I’m sure lots of you guys already know this lovely lady.

Haaaaaaaaaave you met Kate?

Kate blogs over on Ankhor You. She’s been blogging on and off since 2012 which is incredible! She blogs about travel, fashion, self-love and writing. She’s also a coffee addict, and a self-declared mermaid. She’s awesome!

I’ve been following Kate since the early days of my blog. We’ve begun talking even more recently, and I always love hearing from her! She’s so positive and supportive, and it’s always a joy to read her blog!

Here are some of my favourite posts of hers:

• What Do I Wear?!? – Transitioning to Spring

I always love Kate’s OOTD posts. First off the titles are always catchy! She also takes the most fun outfit photos. Look at the above image! I could never do such a cool pose. This post is all about this gorgeous navy blue dress with florals for the upcoming spring season.

• Wanderlusting: Sunrise on Folly Island

Kate’s travel series is always fun to read. I love seeing where she goes to! This time she visited Folly’s Island and saw the Morris Light Lighthouse. What makes this even more impressive is that she visited at sunrise, hence the extra magical photos!

• Charleston’s Coffee Culture

I love coffee, but I feel like Kate loves it just a little more! She often has little reviews of places she’s had coffee. In this post, she shares a few places in Charleston that has good coffee and interesting history!

• Tips For Winter Hiking

Kate loves hiking, and just because the weather gets colder, doesn’t slow her down! In this post, she shares tips to help make hiking in winter that little bit easier.

• Winter Blues and Some Self Care

I always love posts where we get to learn a little more about what’s going on lately. Kate talks about experiencing the winter blues, and how she’s working towards moving past them and indulging in some self care. Something I think we can all relate to.

So, have you guys checked out Kate yet??

Angela.

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What I’m Looking Forward to in Autumn

There’s a lot of spring posts coming up, so as always, I’m here with my own post on the season that I’m experiencing down here. Our summer is starting to wrap up, and we’re stepping into autumn.

So, here’s five things I’m looking forward to in Autumn!

• Cooler Weather

I’m sure I’ll start complaining about the cold weather 6 months down the line, but this summer has been really intense for us! Our last summer barely hit us, but this one saw a few weeks of non stop really hot weather. Lots of sun and humidity which lost it’s novelty after a few days. So I’ve been enjoying these milder days before winter shows it’s head.

• Lots of foliage

Photo by Peter Aschoff on Unsplash

I think we can all agree that nature always looks so amazing in autumn. All the oranges, reds and yellows only come around in Autumn, and I always look forward to it! I didn’t have my DSLR last autumn, so I’ll be planning lots of photo excursions!

• Crunchy Leaves

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

Do I need to explain crunchy leaves?? There is just something so satisfying on stepping on a crunchy leaf. I get the same happy feelings inside like when I pop bubble wrap. It’s the little things right!

• Apples and Pumpkins

Photo by Fischer Twins on Unsplash

I love summer fruits, they’re all fresh and perfect for smoothies. Autumn fruits and vegetables are perfect for baking and cooking! I have so many apple recipes that I love, and I’d love to try more baking recipes with pumpkin. Pumpkin soup is also a favourite autumn/winter meal, so filing and comforting!

• Layers

I have a thing for layers. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I love cardigans! Cardigans, sweaters, scarves, beanies, boots, all that jazz. I can take advantage of the cooler weather to wear these, but not be overwhelmed yet by the freezing weather of winter.

That’s what I’m looking forward to in Autumn! What are you looking forward in the coming season, whether it’s Spring or Autumn?

Angela.

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Have You Met Dannii?

Let’s just dive right in!

Haaaaaaaave you met Dannii?

Dannii blogs over at A Beautiful Thing. She’s based in the UK and blogs about travel, beauty, fashion, food, life and everything in between! You’re bound to find something you’ll love! She is always off on and writing about an adventure, and it’s so much fun to come along with her!

“I’m a London girl writing about beauty, fashion, travel and things I just love!”

Dannii and I have been following each other since pretty much the beginning of my blog. She even gave me advice on one of my earliest posts when I was fretting about getting my first tattoo (as you may know, I now have three!). She is so lovely and supportive, and I’m always keen to see what she’ll write next!

Here are some of my favourite blog posts of hers:

• Valentine’s Day & Gifts

Recapping how Dannii and her partner spent Valentine’s together. Just a chill night, cooking dinner together, and also cupcakes!

• My Month in Photos (January)

A running series on Dannii’s blog is sharing her favourite photos from the past month. This was the inspiration for my new monthly series on photos!

• The Most Unusual Face Masks-A Review

Dannii often posts revies on beauty products, and a recurring one that comes up is on sheet masks, which she often tries. This one caught my eye, as they’re all just so weird!  For each mask, Dannii shares what it promises to do, why it’s unusual, how she found it and how well it works. Also, all the pictures are amazing.

• My Highlights of 2017 (Part 1)

I loved reading everyone’s posts about how 2017 went down, and Dannii’s was no different. However, I will forever be envious of her trip to Iceland!!

• My Holiday to Norway – Exploring Bergen

As promised, Dannii shares all her travel adventures with her followers. One of her more recent ones was to Norway!

So, have you guys checked out Dannii yet??

Angela.

Find me elsewhere:

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Have You Met Olivia?

Another have you met feature! This time,

Haaaaaaaaaave you met Olivia?

Olivia blogs over at Absolutely Olivia. She’s based in the US, and blogs about a mixture of fashion, beauty, thoughts, photography and so much more! She is definitely a fashionista in the making, and such a thoughtful and incredible person!

Here’s a snippet from her About page:

Hi, I’m Olivia and I feel the best when I look the best!  When I was younger, I hated dressing up and wore athletic clothes the majority of the time.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to step up my clothing game.  Now, one of my goals is to work in the fashion industry and own a closet that goes on forever!

Like with many bloggers I’ve been following for ages, I don’t remember who came across who first. I have always loved Olivia’s blog though! She puts so much work into her posts, whether it’s an Outfit post, a thought-provoking post or a fun ‘get to know me’ post!

Speaking of, here are some of my favourite posts of hers:

• Best Outfits of 2017

Olivia has a lot of outfit posts under her belt. I always love seeing what she puts together. In this post, she shares 20 of her best outfits from last year. Needless to say, there’s lots of fashion inspiration in this post!

• 18 Goals for 2018

Last year, Olivia wrote her 17 goals for 2017 and updated us on how she went with it. In this post, she shares her 18 goals for this year. She was actually the inspiration for me to make my yearly goals this year! I’ve also picked 18!!

• Day in the Life: School, Tennis, Younglife and More!

I love Day in the Life posts! It’s just cool to see what goes in a regular day for my blogging friends. Reading Olivia’s posts about being in school definitely makes me feel old (lol), but it’s very interesting to see how she spends a typical day!

• 30 Day Styling Challenge Recap + 4 Final Outfits

Olivia recently did a 30 Day Styling Challenge. In her words “These ootds won’t be your normal, everyday looks, but something a little more extra than that.” And she definitely delivered. This is her wrap up post where she shares the last outfits as well as her favourites!

• What Even is a Feminist?

Olivia did a collab with Cal, where they wanted to gather photos and little messages from fellow friends who identify as feminists. The goal is to show that a feminist can be “anyone and everyone”. Olivia shares 15 of the submissions, and it is such an incredible read!

So, have you guys checked out Olivia yet??

Angela.

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